The Duel

[Detlor Poultry]

so.... Obvious question.....

I sowed Bearbind seeds in Decemer, and they were supposed to bloom by Easter. I sowed Farewell-to-Spring seeds in February, and they were supposed to bloom by Canada day...

The Bearbind is 4 inches tall at 4 months old (that's right, people, it grew one whole inch a month! incredible growth rate!). Only 2 true leaves on it and 8 seedling-type leaves. It will probably be blooming in 3 months.
The Farewell-to-Spring is 10 inches tall at 2 months old. It will probably be blooming by May.

Which one would you choose?

 

[ducks4you]

I'd choose The Farewell-to-Spring. It's more robust and more likely to survive tranplanting NOW. Transplant the other one later.

 

[Detlor Poultry]

Yeah, that was my answer, too. Which do I like better, well lets see, one that takes 6 months to bloom and is not vigorous, or one that is very vigorous and tough and blooms soon. Almost anyone would pick the latter. It's sotra like culling chickens, but with plants. The Bearbind is in a pot that I was going to take to church to be an Easter Flower. I said was[i/]. It's not that I don't like the Bearbinds, but they're just so.....un-eager. I don't want to take a seedling to church. What's the point? The Farewell-to-spring is just as pretty, and it's really easy to reproduce, and you don't need to priss over the seeds, they're transplant hardy, and WOW I like them.

P.S., I won't transplant anything now. Some perenials have been killed in my garden by this accursed spring. It got so paradisically warm that everything sprang up. Then it's been snowing, there's been hard frosts, and some things just returned to dormancy, but others.... we wont know for awhile. It' not a safe time to transplant annuals here. Although I don't need to harden anything off. They are sitting next to an un-insulated window. Sometimes I wonder if the reason my Bearbind is doing so poorly is because it need lots of heat.